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“We don’t do this well” is a phrase you will often hear on Sunday mornings at Eastgate. This well used phrase is meant to be a reminder that we do not participate in a works based salvation system. We are all invited to rely, not on our own abilities, but the consistent grace of GodContinue reading “A Powerful Purpose”

Usually when we say so and so was “up a tree”, it’s a bad thing.  It’s an old saying that alludes to an animal, like a squirrel or racoon, that will climb a tree in order to flee from an attacker – but once in the tree, they can’t descend because the threat is stillContinue reading “Grace for a Tree Hugger”

Lately there has been a big push to find alternative sources of energy, I would think especially since gas prices have escalated so much. Beyond solar and wind, there are all sorts of strange ideas being proposed for cheaper and renewable power sources. We’re going to be reading about a very surprising source of powerContinue reading “The Power of Love and Mercy”

 One of the consistent and repetitive themes of the gospel is that Jesus’ presentation of God’s kingdom on earth is VERY different from the way the kingdoms of this world work – whether that’s the leaders of Israel or Caesar in Rome or any president in our country. This Sunday we’ll be reading Luke 18:15-30Continue reading “Entering the Kingdom”

The opening lines of the Parable we’re reading this Sunday almost sounds like a tired joke: “A Pharisee and a Tax Collector walk into the temple….”. It isn’t a joke though, quite the opposite. We’ll be progressing in our exploration of the Gospel of Luke this Sunday, reading ch 18:9-14. Interestingly, This is the onlyContinue reading “Getting Right by Getting Real”

This Sunday we’ll be reading the parable of the Unjust Judge as we continue our study in Luke, reading ch 18:1-8. Luke introduces it as a parable about prayer, but a surface reading of it actually raises more questions than it does provide answers. It’s another unusual parable where the title character is a scoundrelContinue reading “Prayerful Faith”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it….and I feel fine.” ~ REM Our passage this week is Luke 17:20-37, where Jesus talks about the end! (For the rest of this blog post I dare you not to hum “its the end of the world as we know it” by REM.  If you DOContinue reading “Kingdom Come”

Last week in the beginning of Luke Chapter 17 we read about Jesus’ strong emphasis about intentional humility. This week, we will see intentional humility played out by the last person anyone (at that time) would expect. In the passage that we will be learning about this week (Luke 17:11-19) we will witness Jesus’ interactionContinue reading “Creating a Clean Heart”

“Humility is not my virtue? False – as per everything else, I excel at being humble.” ~ Dwight Shrute In our study of Luke this Sunday we’ll be reading ch 17:1-10. We’ll move into a section where Jesus will give a warning, a command, an encouragement and a parable – all with an underlying themeContinue reading “The Practice of Humility”

Have you ever experienced the 20-20 vision of hindsight? I can remember so many times when I’ve looked back on a confusing situation and had a much clearer picture in light of all the things I discovered along the way. What if we could get the clearer picture beforehand – not having to wait untilContinue reading “Living Now Like it’s Then”